De-Bumpdate!

Look what we caught!

Our perfect son came to join our family a little early, and we couldn't be happier.

He weighed 7 lbs 11 ounces and was 20.5" long.

Did I mention that he is perfect?

Seriously perfect.

Thirty. . . Eight. . . Weeks. . .

I know what you are thinking. . . 

"Wow, your hair is long!"

It's true.  

Nine and three-quarters inches long to be exact.

Which is only a 6 inch ponytail, so we have a bit longer until I can donate it.

No?

Oh.

Yes, my belly IS huge.

Any guesses for my current waistline?

I guess 60 inches.

Ben guessed 48.

We were both wrong: 42 inches.

That's a lot of baby!

At my last appointment, she estimated 7 pounds, 4 ounces.

Zero to 4 weeks left until we get to meet the baby! 

And provide accurate statistics.

(and a name, and a sex, and a birthday!)

You know that old saying about how 

the light at the end of the tunnel is actually an oncoming train?

We'll let you know how that turns out for us as well.

Looking forward to less sleep, more laundry, and the greatest love.

Celebrating Baby V - 37 weeks

We want to thank all of our friends and family members who threw us parties and came out to celebrate with us, in anticipation of our newest little family member!

Here's to you!

Thank you for making us feel special and loved.

And thank you for helping us to prepare.

the darling handmade sign from Sarah and Michelle

We were all celebrated at the shared baby shower / going away party 

from Ben's former position at Tabor Road.

Lindsey's fun signs at the office party

We love you all!

Zero to five weeks left. . . .

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOU! Almost time. . .

Guys.  There is a full-sized baby in my belly.

(Okay, uterus.  But "belly" sounds friendlier somehow)

AND!

We have names picked out!!

hooray! / whew!

No, we still aren't telling.

So, TBD Vandaveer it is, for now.

Looking forward to college football starting this weekend.

We get the UTEP game up here!  It isn't in HD, but at least we can watch it.

And Louise and Matt are coming to visit!

It's a big weekend.

I know baby V is excited about it, too.

Bumpdate, Premier League Edition.

I think I missed my calling.  I should be a chalk artist.

This is the badge of my husband's favorite soccer team, in honor of the start of the Premier League season this past weekend.

Glory Glory Man Utd.

(Sadly they lost their opening game to Everton, but don't worry, 

there are many, many games to come to improve their record.)

And another picture of my burgeoning belly!

And now for the funny ones:

My imitation of a soccer player faking an injury to his face
(after he got hit in the ankle, of course).
Which happens a lot.
The really good actors even make themselves bleed.
Impressive.

And here is my typical reaction when any soccer player claims to be injured.
Get an orange slice.  Maybe a Capri Sun.  Or even magic muscle spray.
(For the record, I feel the same way about professional basketball players)

Week 34: You're gonna need a bigger blog

thanks, Ross & Karen for the shark bath mitt!

Happy Shark Week 2012!

I was concerned that there wasn't going to be anything to watch after the Olympics,

but the Discovery Channel had it all under control.

Have we talked about my husband's fascination with sharks?

And how there will likely be a trip to South Africa in the future 

so that he can swim with them?

(while in an underwater cage so if they are mad or hungry they can't get to him)

Sharks rank third on his list of loves, after his family and soccer.

So, don't worry. We've got the line up after Shark Week is over as well:

Next week there will be Champions League games to watch.

And UEFA League games.

And the hands down most important: 

PREMIER LEAGUE games start THIS WEEKEND.

So, our television will not be ignored.

Until then, I will continue to think of Finding Nemo anytime anyone says "shark week"

(ooh ha ha)


Oh, and we're another week more pregnant, by the by.

the Olympic bumpdate!

Current standings in the Olympics:

USA has over taken China with 90 total medals and 39 golds.

China has 80 and 37, respectively.

Team GB is in 3rd place (gets the bronze for medal count?) at 52 and 25.

Three more days of events, and then my television will be taken over by sharks and soccer.

And soon, American football.

I assure you, our baby is training for something.

Whether you call it Little Aveer, Franklin Chloe, or Wiggly, 

the child has spirit and strength already.

But not a name yet.  We, the parents, are still working on that.

We are excited to meet him or her!

A few weeks left of baking and our world will be completely different.

So exciting!

What is 8 x 4?

Lots of chevrons!

I heart chevrons.

Oh, and my belly is still getting bigger.

I'm pretty sure there isn't any more room.

I'm also fairly certain that the baby will prove me wrong.

Check out my new wedding bands!

Super excited to find a yellow gold/silver/rose gold set on Etsy

My finger has grown more than a whole size.

For serious.

(but now I have pretty rings that fit!)

31 weeks!!

Let me tell you, the little one is getting ready for the Olympics, too.

And, maybe "little" is not quite accurate.

I certainly feel like a giant human being and a half.

Which is appropriate.

As is my charming waddle.

Coming soon:

Pictures of the baby room!!

Ben put everything together while I was away, and it looks fantastic.

Also:

The birthday pool.

Kendall, Dad, and I all have our days selected that we predict Little Aveer will decide to join us.  Start thinking and check your email soon!

Onto the third trimester. . .

We hope you had a lovely holiday week to celebrate our nation's independence!

In between visitors, we had time to enjoy a cookout and see a few fireworks.
(more about Julia's and Rick's visits to come!)

It felt like Little Aveer was trying to impersonate fireworks!

He or She even kicked the doppler mic off my belly at our 

28 week check up appointment!

Bumpdate Special Edition: Julia came to visit!

Ben's cousin came to see us in Philadelphia!

She had never spent any time on the east coast before, so we kept busy 

by visiting everything we could fit in!

I loved getting to take her to Times Square for the first time.

As a musical theatre lover, I remember the magic of my first visit and was so excited to share that experience with another singer!

We also arranged for an exclusive tour of the White House.

This picture was taken while waiting for President Obama to come out and get on the helicopter so that he could visit Colorado to see the fire damage.

No big deal, just hanging out in the backyard (South Lawn) of the President's house where a giant helicopter landed and took off.

More pictures and details to come, which may or may not include my growing belly.

Bumpdate: 26 Weeks

We finished our Mindful Childbirth classes last night.

proof that we now know how to have a baby

Well, at least we learned some tips and got to tour the hospital floors 

that house L & D, as well as the know where the nurseries are.

There is still lots to do to prepare our little, growing family!

Bumpdate - Special Thunder Edition!

baby V is a Thunder fan, there is no doubt about that.

Some people may say that my excitatory hormones and neurotransmitters were causing all the movement in the fourth quarter, but I have a different perspective:

Little Aveer was cheering as loudly as we were.

On a slightly unrelated note, I did my first load of baby laundry this week.

I know, experienced moms out there are not impressed.  

I will do a countless amount more, likely every day, for many, many years.

And it will be less fun and probably not make me smile very often.

But it seemed significant at the time.

Folding all the tiny, brand new baby things.

It's the little things that make it real.

For Ben it was the stroller (thanks again, fantastic shower hostesses!!):

Growin' growin'

After a friendly reminder from the biggest fan of pregnancy that I know,

we finally got a picture for this bumpdate.

At our 24 week visit this week, my fundal height is right at 24 cm -

which means we are right on target!

You keep enjoying your summer,

I'll keep wishing for central air and eating lots of frozen treats.

(oh how I wish water ice contained protein. . . )

Back by Popular Demand

Seeing as how we are seeing most of you tomorrow,

we thought about skipping this update,

but that idea was quickly thwarted.

Some people (you know who you are. . . ) were adamant about a timely update.

So here is a sneak peak of baby V.

And happy birthday me (in 6 days)!!

Halfway there!

And we can feel the baby moving!

Even Ben got to feel a few kicks or somersaults!

(as a side note, round ligament pain feels an awful lot like a burst ovarian cyst)

Tomorrow we get more pictures of our little one, growing away,

as long as a banana from the tip of the head to the bottoms of the feet.

More pictures to come!

18 weeks!

Whew!  I made the 2 week deadline for a bumpdate!

I look much less pregnant in regular clothes.

Strangers may have started to wonder, "Is she pregnant or fat?" (which, coincidentally, is one of my favorite games to play-silently-when I see worthy candidates)

Little Aveer is certainly moving around a bit and/or blowing bubbles, I can't tell.

Also, I can't stop eating!  Never very much in one setting, but ALL DAY LONG.

Pretty excited to have energy again, though.

One more bumpdate and then more pictures of the little one!

Sixteen Weeks

That baby is making room!

This week, the baby is the size of an avocado (which babycenter.com thinks is bigger than an apple) and he or she is pumping 25 quarts of blood every day!  Whoa! 

(adults pump 5000-6000 quarts in the same amount of time - the baby's got work to do!)

Second Trimester, and more pictures!

Here's our baby!

Kickin' it in my uterus with his/her feet up and hands behind his/her head.

Looks pretty comfy and laid back at 14 weeks.

That's a big bump for a baby the size of a lemon. . . 

Meet Little Aveer. Kind of.

If you are reading this, you likely already know our exciting news.

We're having a kumquat!

Thanks to babycenter.com, we know what kind of fruit is growing inside my uterus every week!  Spoiler alert:  Week 13 we graduate to crustaceans.

The baby is growing in the right spot!

Here are the facts:

• We are due October 1, 2012 (-ish)
• It's not twins.  Whew!
• The plan is to remain in the dark regarding the sex of the baby.

Also, thanks Aunt Kendall for naming the not-yet-a-baby.  It's nice to call our little gestational fruit by name instead of "it" or "the baby."

Here are the bumpdate pictures thus far:

After several pregnancy tests (and Ben taking one to make sure that they weren't broken), we went to the King of Prussia Mall to buy my first maternity dress, so we could document my growing waistline.

Ben and Murphy didn't want to be left out of the excitement 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm a little in denial about having a bump.  It just seems weird.  

Why would something "the size of a medium shrimp" (apparently, we are expanding beyond the produce section) move all my organs around and make it difficult to button my jeans?

But I suppose I am starting to have a little bump.

Second Trimester, here we come!